Full interview with Sharon Bala, author of The Boat People, at the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival
Karen K. Tran: There’s been an upsurge in books written by and about people of colour recently — why do you think these types of books are becoming more popular?
Sharon Bala: I don’t know that there’s more of us writing now but I think certainly that I’ve benefited from all of the diverse writers who’ve come before me, who’ve made space for me. I see it a lot in festivals like this, when you look at the lineup of authors and see how diverse it is. And I don’t just mean in terms of skin colour. The Festival of Literary Diversity is another one that’s really wonderful for this. So I don’t know if there’s more of us now, but I think more of us are being given book deals and are being given platforms and invitations to events like this, which is really wonderful. And there’s certainly diverse people working more and more in the industry now; I think that also makes a big difference.
KT: What do you think of the terms “immigrant fiction” or “refugee fiction” being used to label books like yours?
SB: I don’t love titles! [Laughs]. I don’t love labels, actually. I don’t know what it means to say “immigrant fiction.” If you think about Irish family stories, long sagas, and stories about people coming from Ireland to Canada, do we call that “immigrant fiction,” or do we call it a family story? If you think about many of the books that we might label “immigrant fiction,” are they immigrant fiction or are they family stories?
KT: What’s next for you?
SB: I’m touring a lot. The fall is so busy and it’s all book promotion. …But over the holidays and next winter, I am working on a new book. It’s a totally different book [from The Boat People]. …I’d been writing [The Boat People] since 2013, so I’m ready to go to something totally different.
KT: What are you currently reading?
SB: I just finished reading Women Talking by Miriam Toews, and I just bought Rawi Hage’s book, Beirut Hellfire Society, so I’m looking forward to that. I also just read Mary Beard’s book, Women in Power which is basically two of her lectures she gave about women in power through history. It was really interesting to read that, and then right after that read Women Talking.
Featured photo by Karen K. Tran/The Ontarion